2002 BMW 325Cic (07/02 build)

Discarded rear plate frame and polished small scratches from it; Cleaned rag top cover and other black trim inside cabin

Paolo

03-05-2013

47559

Clay, polish and wax; Gummi Phledge on trunk weather stripping; Diono Radian RXT installation; Leather conditioning; Front tires set to 31, rears to 35.5; Assembled key case (1st owner never put it together and just left it in the glove compartment).

Paolo

03-06-2013

47559

Cleaned ragtop holding box; Cleaned and lubed all weather stripping (including the one for the ragtop box); Oil changed to 4qts Redline 5w-30 and 3 qts M1 TDT using a Hengst filter, noting that the counter was -1650mi; Flushed power steering reservoir (twice) and cleaned reservoir insides (it had a little residue); Cleaned engine bay; Programmed DRLs; Reset and programmed Homelink to open my garage with all three buttons; Inspected air filter and it still looked new (~7500 miles)

Paolo

03-07-2013

47564

Changed belts with Dayco "W" belts. These belts supposedly have a patent on the W-belt profile to lessen noise along with the compound used. Upon closer inspection the material does feel a bit different and is more "rubbery"; Changed idler pulley to Duralast 231089 (made in Germany) and main tensioner pulley to Duralast 231133 (INA made in Germany); AC tensioner pulley changed with a Dayco 89133 I already had.

Paolo

03-08-2013

47815

4 tires rebalanced by America's tire (free, thanks Americas Tire!). Technician claims it was "counter balanced" with three separate weights at different places which shouldn't have been done; Polished hubs from thick rust and applied anti-seize; washed car after rains the night before, no wax or polish; Reminder to polish soon - saw swirl marks from normal wear and tear that need to be addressed.

Paolo

03-09-2013

47820

Programmed warning chime for key-in to OFF; Programmed optical acknowledgement of lock/unlock to ON; Programmed reverse chime to ON; Lubricated convertible top hinges with PB Blaster and wiped off excess, stunk for a couple days and still had a low frequency squeak which I suspect is just from normal sound of operation from the hydraulic pistons; Tightened torx fasteners on trunk lift handle

Paolo

03-10-2013

48280

Flushed power steering reservoir with Redline D4 for the third time to get (what I suspect) was power steering fluid, which is the wrong fluid.

Paolo

03-12-2013

48317

Cleaned stains from underside of hood; Cleaned underhood insulation (vacuum and brush); Gummi Phledge application on weather stripping (inside channels) because I started hearing squeaks after I put the car through rain; Removed remaining stickers and residue from dealer and previous owner; Cleaned SAP filter

Paolo

03-13-2013

48317

Greased ignition keyhole with lithium grease

Paolo

03-14-2013

48318

Changed transmission fluid with Redline D4; Changed differential fluid with Redline 75w-90; Amateur hour I made more mess than the first time I did it 4 years and 5 times ago but transmission WAS filled correctly; Lesson learned - don't work on the tranny while watching the baby and don't get upset if you make a mess - the less you relax the more you screw up.

Changed cabin air filter after discovering previous owner didn't bother figuring out how to correctly insert the filter and just mashed it to fit.

Paolo

03-21-2013

48728

Programmed one-touch close for front window and rear window (both disabled by default from the factory); Programmed convenience opening and closing (via remote control) of convertible top; I tried making changes to the HVAC settings for default-recirculate mode but I can't access that module with PA Soft. Unfortunately my DIS VM is broken and I can't get it to work. I'll figure this out one day

Paolo

03-29-2013

48774

Rebuilt DISA valve.

Paolo

03-31-2013

48812

Conditioned leather for left side of the car, including the brake lever & boot, and center arm rest. I didn't do the right because I had no (easy) access in the garage. Used the usual cleaner and conditioner by Cole Haan.

Paolo

04-04-2013

48816

Changed wiper blades due to chattering and streaking. I'm guessing these are still original to the car; Added missing bump stops on the hood. Not sure if it went missing or was never installed on the car. Installed after referencing my 03 which has them.

Changed rear signal bulb, rear (outer) stop light but didn't touch the inner duoble-contact bulb because it looked unused. It's probably because it's being used as a "park light" which only comes on with the headlights and most likely runs at low wattage. The stop light on the other hand was ready to be replaced. No evidence of "burns" on the bulb contacts from excessive draw.

Paolo

04-20-2013

49471

Adjusted headlights to correct height/level. Driver's side was low, passenger side was even lower.

Paolo

04-22-2013

49635

Car wash only. No vacuum, polish or wax.

Paolo

04-24-2013

49641

Evac and recharge A/C system. 1.70lbs capacity, recovered 0.91lbs, 0.79lbs effectively added. Checked due to a faint moaning noise (at engagement) I heard when I was stopped at Safeway waiting for my wife. Another clue is that the compressor was cycling on and off, a symptom of low refrigerant for variable-displacement compressors. No leaks found, and no more noise after the recharge. We did the car outside and I was able to watch the whole process this time.

Paolo

04-25-2013

49647

Changed reverse lamps (and polished the holders) and added Benny's footprints to the trunk panel behind the trim.
Have spares, they don't always come off in one piece, I broke or seriously marred 7 of the 10 clips.
$1.37 per clip at local dealership, online is $0.29. Next time I'll be prepared.

Paolo

04-29-2013

50196

Changed fuel filter (Kayser, OE BMW) and vacuum hose to FPR. Drain and fill ATF with Redline D4, no pan drop. I'm now convinced the fuel filter will go farther than 50k miles. Photo below shows the outside vs the inside of the paper element. The white specs you see are from cutting it open.

Paolo

05-03-2013

50368

Removed and polished cluster window with scratch-x. Changed peanut bulbs for rear plate. Glass was dark and output was dimmer than new one but it was still functioning. Probably original.

Paolo

05-07-2013

50803

Wash, polish and wax. I used my new 6" polisher today with very successful results.

Paolo

05-18-2013

50969

Greased door and trunk keyhole with lithium grease.

Paolo

05-19-2013

51181

Adjusted driver door window pretension (too much; backed off by 1/8th turn on adjustment bolt) and longitudinal adjustment (off by 2mm). Also adjusted door planar adjustment (off my 1mm). Discovered broken clips on the moulding (ALL OF THEM). I replaced three because I had spares but 6 are still broken. They still hold good, but not as much as a fresh clip. Replacing next week.

Paolo

05-30-2013

51877

Changed shock absorbers because the rear end was flopping around . It wasn't completely dead but the rear had more rebound than I liked. Replaced with Sachs Advantage 556-884 and it's a lot better now.

Paolo

05-31-2013

52051

Adjusted driver door for more pretension due to slapping noises during strong bumps and when the top is down. Replaced 6 broken clips. Adjusted passenger door for slightly more pretension and moved the glass forward by 2mm (it was too far back according to BMW spec). Replaced 5 broken clips.

Paolo

06-05-2013

52441

Greased and packed strut mounts with Redline CV-2.

Paolo

06-06-2013

52571

Applied foam to bottom of ashtray to get rid of a buzzing noise at 6k+ rpm. I think it was just the lighter and nail cutter that were in there buzzing together with engine vibration, but I did it anyway to be sure.

Spark plugs changed with Denso PK20TT (4504). I like these plugs. They're "hot" like the Bosch, with the reliability of the Japanese. I will purchase these again for the coupe when the time comes.

Paolo

07-13-2013

53249

Took apart center window switch console to identify a buzzing noise at high RPM. I think I found it, possibly a connector that was loosely mounted to its perch. I wrapped the connector in cloth tape and returned it to its perch, now snug. I also stuffed some foam in there which is compressed down by the window switches themselves. If the noise was coming from the switch console, it's gone now. I also replaced the vacuum hose going to the F-connector from the FPR.

Replaced HVAC unit with a newer model hoping I could code some options with PA Soft. Alas the "Recoding" button is still greyed out. I could code either one (old and new units) using my old DIS setup but I don't have that anymore. Note: I don't know what the hoopla is about this newer style layout vs the old. It's different, but that's all it is. Stick with your existing old units if they're working, unless you have space issues behind the dash.

Injected rear view mirror with cyanoacrylate to get rid of buzzing noise when on concrete. Also refinished all black plastic pieces of the mirror.

Paolo

05-04-2014

58526

Fixed front passenger side speaker grill due to clicking noises. Injected with a tiny amount of belt dressing at the interface with the door panel which has worked for me in the past. Dries clear, doesn't spread and remains tacky.

Replaced reinforcement plate and left wheel liner due to striking a broken part of a man hole. Thankfully it was isolated to these two parts. I took the opportunity to replace FCABs (right one was torn, both were leaking), drag links (knocking on both sides), and I re-torqued the oil pan, transmission pan and differential cover bolts as preventive maintenance. No leaks yet.

Old lady took my bumper off not paying attention at a light. Took it to Cook's Collision in Brentwood (Susan Crespo) because she worked on my wife's Benz before and it was perfect. When I get it back I'll take it apart and see if they did a good job.

Paolo

01-05-2015

63476

Mechanical to electric fan conversion.

Paolo

01-05-2015

63477

I just finished the mechanical to electric fan conversion and I got a chance to inspect the work recently done by Cook's Collision. 6/10 for really shoddy work. Front brake ducts were missing; Rear brake ducts were installed but no bolts were mounted (see picture) and fell off when I removed the pan below it; Overspray on the hood insulation and hood catch; Bumper cover to bumper carrier is missing clips; Fog light replaced due to used (12 year old) unit and the drain was pinched on install (WTF it's so obvious); Wheel liners weren't installed correctly and missing parts and hardware; Blah, blah, blah... you get it.
I purchased and replaced all missing hardware per BMW ETK. Everything is ok now. I trusted my foreperson because I've worked with her before. Next time I'll be sure to inspect while the work is ongoing to make sure everything is on the up and up.

Paolo

01-05-2015

63477

Paolo

01-07-2015

63518

Car washed, hood pins and rear hood hinges adjusted.

Paolo

01-09-2015

63519

Replaced power steering reservoir o-ring. Interestingly this original o-ring failed within weeks of my other E46.

Paolo

01-13-2015

63542

Dropped fender liners to re-mount fog lamps. Cooks Collision incorrectly mounted them from the rear, causing the light to point down. This would have also made it impossible to change the bulb from the exterior, and was scratching the bumper trim piece because the assembly was tilted downward.

Paolo

01-28-2015

63587

Replaced all other parts and hardware either not replaced (but damaged) from the accident, or missing or incorrect from the repair. Includes, but not limited to: bumper carrier (bent; see pictures), fog light mounts (missing on one side and missing rivets on both), roundel (cracked from R&R), kidney grilles (cracked from R&R), left brake vent (cracked from the accident), bumper grille (all 10 clips missing). I also replaced the turn signal lamps (unrelated) and rotated front tires L to R.

Paolo

01-31-2015

63592

Air pressure corrected. Was 35.0/35.5 from Cooks Collision. Now 32.5/36.5.

Paolo

02-05-2015

63630

Fixed interior convertible flap covers and reworked wiring from the electric fan conversion (it was only twisted together because I didn't have the appropriate gauge connectors when I did it).